Car-coupling



H. E. VAN DORN.

CAB COUPLING. APPLICATION FILED ssPnzz. m1.

Patented J fine 10, 1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1'.

H. E. VAN DORN.

CAR COUPLING.

APPLlCATlON FILED SEPT-22,1917.

1 306,040, Patented June 10, 1919.

' 3 SHEETS-SHFET 2.

M722??? M 54% MM H. E. VAN DORN.

CAR COUPLING.

APPLlCATlON man SEPT. 22. 1911.

1,306,040. Patented June 10, 1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

ATE to CAR-COUPLING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 10, 1919.

Application filed September 22, 1917. Serial No. 192,633.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, HERBERT E. VAN DORN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, county of Cook, State of ,Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful improvement in Car-Couplings, and declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, such as Wlll enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

My invention has for its object to produce a simple, strong, automatic locking means for the knuckle of a car coupler.

Viewed in one of its aspects, my invention may be said to have for its object to produce an automatic lock which may be employed to swing the knuckle open or, if the presence of another coupler prevents such swinging movement, will permit the locking element to be set in an unlocking position and be thereafter maintained in an unlocking.posi tion when the knuckle is opened, and be positively caused to assume a locking position when the knuckle is again closed after having been swung open.

The various features of novelty whereby my invention is characterized will hereinafter be pointed out with particularity in the claims; but, for a full understanding of my invention and of its objects and advantages, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a horizontal section through a coupler head embodying the presentinvention, the knuckle and locking mechanism be ing shown in plan;

Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section through the coupler head;

Fig. 3 is a section taken approximately on I line 3-3 of Fig. 1;*

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the locking block; 7 Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the locking block;

Fig. 6 is a front elevation of the locking block;

Figs. 7, 8, 9 and 10 are sections taken approximately on line 7-7 of Fig. 1, showing various different positions of the tail of the knuckle and of the locking devices;

Figs. 11, 12 and 13 are respectively end, top and side views of the knuckle-opening arm; and

Figs. 14, 15 and 16 are respectively top, side and front views of the actuator for the locking block and knuckle-opening arm.

Referring to the drawings, 1 represents a coupler head and 2- a knuckle of the common automatic coupler type. The locking device is of the vertically movable type, consisting of a lifter,8,projecting downwardly through an opening, 4:, in the bottom Wall of the coupler head, a locking block, 5, hung at its upper end on a hook, 6, projecting forwardly from the upper end of the lifter, 3, and a knuckle-throwing arm, 7 pivotally connected at one end to the upper end of the looking block by means of a pin, 8, or the like.

The lifter may take any suitable shape. The locking block is so proportioned that when it is in its lowermost position, it serves as an abutment lying in front of the tail of the knuckle and preventing the knuckle from swinging open while, when in its raised position, it permits the knuckle to swing open. The arm 7 is so proportioned that the toe, 7*, at the free end thereof at no time rises above the top of the tail of the knuckle and it cannot therefore get out of operative relation to the knuckle.

The upper portion of the locking block is preferably made square or rectangular while the lower half, on the side facing the knuckle, is cut away diagonally, as indicated at 9; the thickest part of the lower half of the block being at the rear, and the rear edge on the side next to the tail of the knuckle being displaced some distance to the right of the knuckleengaging face of the upper half of the block. On the extreme lower end of the locking block is a tongue, 10, which extends into a pocket, 11, in the lifter; the arrangement being such that the block is prevented from swinging about a transverse axis but is permitted tO swing in a transverse plane about the hook 6. The pivot pin, 8, lies below the hook 6 and toward the right of the latter, viewed from the front end of the coupler. Thearm 7 has a heel, 12,

which is adapted to strike against the upper wall, 13, of the coupler head just after the lifter has been raised far enough to bring the lower end o f the locking block clear of the opening 4.

The operation of the locking mechanism is as follows: In Fig. 7 the parts are shown in the locking position, the upper end of the locking block lying between the tail, 14:, of the knuckle and the side wall, 15, of the coupler and the free end of the arm 7 lying upon the tail of the knuckle. lifter is raised, it carries the members 5 and 7 with it until the lower end of the locking block has passed above the top of the opening 1. In the meantime the free end of the arm'7 has simply been dragged idly across the upper rear edge of the tail of the knuckle. The point at which the hook 6 passes through the locking block is at the left of a vertical plane passing through the center of gravity of the locking block and therefore when the litter is raised,'the looking block tends to swing by gravity toward the left until the lower end thereof rests upon the bottom wall of thecoupler head as shown in Fig. 8; this movement of the looking block being permitted by reason of'the fact that the lower half of the locking block is not as wide, in the transverse direction,

as the upper half. However, it is not safe to depend on the more action of gravity and therefore, a positive swinging of. the locking block is brought about when the heel, 12, of the arm 7 strikes against the top wall of the coupler; the arm thereupon being brought to rest and the continued upward movement of the lifter and its hook 6 causing a positive rotation of the locking block about the pin 8 which connects the locking block and the arm together. If the coupler is engaged with another coupler, so that its knuckle cannot be swung open, the parts simply remain in the positions illustrated in Fig. 8. 1.f, h0wever, conditions are such that the knuckle may be swung open, a further upward movement of the lifter causes the arm 7 to rock on the heel12 while the toe thereof bears against the rear side of the tail of the knuckle and swings it outwardly as indicated in Fig. 9. "After the knuckle has been swung outwardly, the lifter may be released and the parts will drop down into the'positions indicated in Fig.1(); the shoulder, 16, at the lower left hand side of the upper half of 'the lockin block engaging with the top of the tail or the knuckle. It will be seen that the parts are so proportioned that when the shoulder 16 rests upon the tail of theknuckle, the I extreme lower end of the locking block extends downwardly into the opening 4 so that when the support for the locking block is removed, it will drop down into locking When the position. If it is necessary to leave the parts in the positions illustrated in Fig. 8, then when the knuckle is swung open by reason of the separation of the coupler from another coupler, the tail of the knuckle acts as a cam on the lower half of the locking block, pushing it laterally and, when it registers with the opening a, permitting it to drop down until the shoulder 16 rests upon the top of the tail of the knuckle; that the final position of the parts is that illustrated in Fig. 10, it being immaterial whether the coupler has been thrown open in the act of unlocking it or whetherthe knuckle has simply been unlocked and has afterward been opened through cooperation with another knuckle. When the parts are in the positions indicated in Fig. 10, the

knuckle is in the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, ready to be engaged automatically with the knuckle of another coupler. When the knuckleis swung into closed position, either through the making of an form in the top of the coupler head a pocket or compartment, 17, which will prevent any undue play of the" member 7 and will confine it to swinging movements about its supporting pin 8.

The lifter may-conveniently beactuated by'means of an arm, 18, pivotally connected at one end, as at 19,. to the under side of the coupler head and having its opposite end extending through an opening, 20, in the louver end of the lifter. may coin'eniently be actuated by means o f a bell crank lever, 21, hung on the under side of the couplerhead in frontof the member 18, engaging the latter with one of its arms,

The'menrber 18 i i and being adapted to have its other arm 7'7 attathed to a suitable actuating device.

' The locking mechanism is just aswell adapted for operation from above the cone pler head as from below it. Thus, in the arrangement shown, a suitable actuating de-.

vice may be inserted through the opening in the top of the coupler head for the purpose of pullingthe lifter upwardly from below to unlock the coupler.

While'the size and shape of the parts may be widely varied, it will be seen that the'.particular arrangement illustrated has the ad-v vantage of making it impossible for the locking block to' drop out accidentally through the bottom of the coupler head ,7 the above instead of pushing it upwardly from opening in which the lifter and the locking block play being too small to permit them from passing entirely through the same.

I claim: 1

1. I11 a coupler, a coupler head, a swinging knuckle, a vertically movable lifter, a locking block hung on the lifter so as to be capable of swinging in a transverse plane, a knuckle-opening arm pivoted at one end to the locking block and having its other end lying behind the tail of the knuckle, said knuckle-opening device being constructed and arranged to engage with a stationary part of the coupler head at a predetermined point in the upward movement of the lifter, and cause the lower end of the locking block to swing laterally toward the tail of the knuckle.

2. In a coupler, a coupler head, a swinging knuckle, a vertically movable lifter extending upwardly through an opening in the bottom of'the head, a locking block hung at its upper end to the upper end of said lifter, said locking block consisting of an upper portion adapted to engage with the tail of the knuckle and hold it against swinging open and of a lower portion adapted to permit the knuckle to swing open when the locking block is raised, the lower portion of the locking block extending clownwardly through said opening when the knuckle is in locking position, and means associated with said lock for positively swinging the lower end laterally toward the tail of the knuckle when the lifter is raised to lift the locking block out of said opening.

3. In a coupler, a coupler head, a swing ing knuckle, a vertically movable lifter, a locking block pivotally connected at its upper end to the lifter so as to be capable of swinging in a transverse-plane, and a knuckle-opening arm pivotally connected at one end to the locking block and having its other end engaging with the. back of the tail of the knuckle, the pivotal axis of the knuckle-opening arm lying to the right of a vertical plane containing the pivotal axis of the locking block as viewed from the front end of the coupler head.

4. In a coupler, a coupler head, a swinging knuckle, a vertically movable locking block, a knuckle-opening arm pivotally con nected at one end to the upper end of the locking block and having its other end extending behind the tail of the knuckle, the parts being so constructed and arranged that when the locking block is raised a predetermined distance, the knuckle-opening arm engages with a stationary part of the coupler head and is held against further upward movement as long as the knuckle does not swing open, and means for lifting the locking block and swinging it slightly about the pivotal connection between it and the knuckle-opening arm so as to carry its lower end toward the tail of the knuckle.

5. In a coupler, a lifter, a locking block pivotally supported at its upper end on the lifter, a knuckle-opening arm lying on one side of the locking block and pivotally con nected at its upper end to the latter, the axis of the pivotal connection between the locking block and the lifter lying in a vertical v plane between the main portion of the knuc kle-opening arm and the axis of the pivotal connection between the knuckle-opening arm and the locking block.

6. In a car coupler, a vertically movable lifter, a locking block lying adjacent to the same and pivotally connected thereto at its upper end, interlocking shoulders between the lower end of the locking block and the lifter for limiting the relative movements of the locking block and the lifter to movements about the pivotal connection between the same, and a knuckle-opening arm pivotally connected at one end to the locking block.

7. In a coupler, a coupler head, a swinging knuckle, a vertically movable lifter, a locking block pivotally connected at its upper end to the lifter, a knuckle-opening arm pivotally connected at one end to the looking block and having its other end projecting behind the tail of the knuckle, the parts being so constructed and arranged that when the locking block is raised into a release position the knuckle-opening arm engages a stationary part of the coupler head and is held against further upward movement until the knuckle begins to swing open, and the pivotal connections between the locking block and lifter and between the locking block and the knuckle-opening arm being so arranged that a continued upward movement of the locking block after the knuckleopening arm has come to rest causes the lower end of the locking block to swing laterally toward the knuckle.

8. In a coupler, a coupler head, a swinging knuckle, a locking block movable in a vertical plane, a knuckleopening arm pivotally connected at one end to the locking block so as to be capable of'swinging about an axis extendinglongitudinallyof the coupler and having its other end projecting behind the tail of the knuckle, said coupler head having formed in the top thereof a compartment for housing and guiding the knuckle-opening arm and preventing it from being displaced longitudinally of the coupler while having freedom for movements in a transverse vertical plane.

9. In a car coupler, a coupler head, a swinging knuckle, a vertically movable locking block, and a swinging knuckle-opening device lying on opposite sides of the tail of the knuckle and pivotally connected to- Qppies of thi Pat n ay he vobfeii ad for knuckle to support the lock in a release posi-r tion said knuckle-opening device having a part adapted to engage a stationary portion of the coupler head when the locking block and said device are raised, and means for raising the locking block.

10. In a coupler, a swinging knuckle, a V

locking'bl ck nd a knuckl pening arm 3 ing on opp s e s es of the tail o the knuc-- kle and p vo a y connected. a h ir upper ends so as to be movable relatively to each other about a longitudinal axis, and lifting means attached to the locking block at a point lying on the knuckle side of a vertical plan co taini g th a res a is,

In testimony whereof, I Sign this specification.

HERBERT VAN BOR five cents each, by addressing the"commissioner of JPatents,

Washington, D. 6. 

